What is Know My Ancestors?

American Monument has created a new way
to honor the lives of your ancestors. American Monument is turning headstones into living memorials where family, friends, historians, and visitors can now be face to face with your ancestors.

Know My Ancestors allows visitors to be face to face with your ancestors; viewing their pictures, hearing their voices, and reading their legacy. With Know My Ancestors your loved one is no longer just another headstone!

A Know My Ancestors memorial is similar to an online scrapbook, where friends and family can upload information about the person buried there, such as: an obituary, family heritage and history, photos, genealogy, favorite stories and memories, comments by friends and relatives, a map to locate the cemetery or favorite place, and donation pages for research or family donations.

Know My Ancestors can add
a link onto the monument
which enables smart phones users to scan and instantly connect to your personalized memorial. It can be viewed
on the phone as visitors walk through the cemetery or from home by simply typing in
a unique web address into
your internet browser.

"Know My Ancestors" QR code plaque and virtual online memorial.

How does Know My Ancestors work?

1. We create a Know My Ancestors QR plaque

We will send you a hand-crafted plaque which has been etched with a personalized QR barcode that, when scanned with a smartphone, will instantly connect visitors to their personal memorial of pictures, memories, videos, and other genealogy documents. Know My Ancestors Markers are perfect for placement on new or existing cemetery headstones, national memorials, veteran memorials, museums, mausoleums, cremation urns, field stones, and anywhere else you would like.

If needed, we provide a plaque that is placed on display in your home or memorial in situations where cremated remains were scattered. Already have an online memorial? We can create a custom Know My Ancestors Marker to an existing memorial website! Just tell us the URL and we'll take care of the rest!

2. Create your online memorial

A Legacy Memorial is similar to an online scrapbook, where friends and family can upload information about the person buried there.

Families can upload:

• Photos
• Videos
• Genealogy
• Obituaries
• Stories
• Memories
• Histories
• Audio Recordings
• Donations Pages
• Visitor Logs
• Comments
• And More!

Each Memorial is securely stored online where it is preserved for generations! Your Memorial can be viewed from any mobile device or personal computer anywhere in the world.

Simply upload memories, photos, and more into your secure Legacy Memorial. We provide a guideline to help you easily upload your information. The upload is extremely easy to follow and simple to do because we do most of the work! No programming or computer experience is required, it's as simple as answering a few questions! You may also upload updates at any time to keep your Memorial relevant and up to date.

3. Affix your Know My Ancestors QR plaque

Installation is done in seconds because each marker is affixed with a self-sealing adhesive tape. It is already applied to the marker, so simply peel the protective tape off the back and adhere it to the memorial. Cleaning the surface with a simple alcohol prep pad (included with every marker) creates a clean surface to adhere to. These materials will not harm your headstone or memorial.

Older headstones may be brittle, so caution should be used when placing your Legacy Marker on deteriorating headstones. There is no drilling, cements, or need for a professional to apply. Wet, dry, hot, or cold, your marker will last for generations.

Know My Ancestors frequently asked questions

Does the fee for the Marker include the website space for the memorial or is there an annual fee for space?

There is only a one-time fee for your Know My Ancestors Marker. It comes with a life-time subscription to the memorial service and unlimited amounts of space. Our biggest objective is to create a one-time cost instead of a monthly subscription. We don't want to restrict people from viewing their family information just because of an unpaid bill. Know My Ancestors is about preserving memories, not about collecting a monthly fee.

How long does it take to get my loved ones Know My Ancestors Marker setup?

Your Know My Ancestors Marker can be set up in minutes. Simply fill out your loved ones information by clicking here. Once submitted, we will do the rest of the work for you. Within 24 hours, your information will be live and ready to scan. All you need to do is affix the Know My Ancestors Marker to your loved ones headstone and start scanning!

Who may make changes to my Archive?

Each account is monitored by a family moderator who may make changes to the information at any time. They may also designate others who may make changes to the information. Online, grave site, or memorial visitors may view this information and may leave comments or share their own memories, but will not be able to make changes to the information without permission from the family moderator. This will help perpetuate the legacy without undermining the integrity of the information.

How do I view my Know My Ancestors memorial?

Legacy Markers use a Quick Response, or QR barcode to direct scanners to your loved ones memorial. A QR Code is a 2-dimensional barcode that can be read by any mobile phone with a camera or barcode reading application installed. These QR codes are programmed with redundancies, to guarantee your Know My Ancestors Marker will scan in any condition. As technology changes, so will we. It's our highest priority to make sure your information is safe and easy to access no matter what technology is prevalent. Every Know My Ancestors Marker is programmed onto your own custom mobile site. Each site is optimized for every mobile device. No matter what device you use to scan your Know My Ancestors Marker, you will see vibrant images and videos of your loved ones.

How do I scan my Know My Ancestors Marker with my phone?

Instructions will vary depending on your mobile device. Simply download any barcode scanning application from your providers mobile market on your device. We recommend using "RedLaser" on iPhones and "Barcode Scanner" for Android and blackberry.

How is the Know My Ancestors Marker affixed to the headstone?

Each marker is affixed with a self-sealing adhesive tape from 3m. It is already applied to the marker, so all you have to do it peel the protective tape off the back and adhere it to the memorial. We found that cleaning the surface with a simple alcohol prep pad (included with every marker) creates a clean surface to adhere to. These materials will not harm your headstone or memorial. The adhesive is specifically designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and temperatures.

Can you affix the Know My Ancestors Marker to any type of headstone?

Yes, with the Know My Ancestors Markers compact design, they can be placed on any type of headstone. Older headstones may be brittle, so caution should be used when placing your Know My Ancestors Marker on deteriorating headstones.

Will weather affect my Know My Ancestors Marker?

No. Each marker has been hand crafted from a specially treated stainless steel and etched with a high intensity laser. These techniques were specifically chosen to resist corrosion and weather the elements. Even the programming of each barcode was taken into consideration to make sure that every mobile device could easily scan each code every time. They will work, or we will replace it for free! Guaranteed!

What if the Know My Ancestors Marker is damaged or stolen?

Hopefully this will never happen, but in the event that your Know My Ancestors Marker is damaged or stolen contact us for replacement instructions.

Is a smooth surface necessary to affix the marker to the headstone? Can it be placed on rough or crumbling stone?

A smooth surface is definitely the best place for your marker. However, they will still affix to rough or deteriorating headstones. Regardless of the headstone, installation is easy enough for anyone to do in less than 2 minutes. Simple instructions are provided with each marker to help with the installation process. If your marker falls off or does not stick, we will provide replacement adhesive to make sure it adheres properly.

Is there any kind of guarantee with my Know My Ancestors Marker?

Yes. American Monument is committed to your 100% satisfaction. We guarantee your Know My Ancestors Marker will scan and withstand the elements for life. Contact us if you are not satisfied for any reason!

My parents share a headstone. Can I put links to two individuals on one Know My Ancestors Marker?

Know My Ancestors Marker is designed to hold whatever information you would like. It can be for one person, or couples. We can even link multiple Know My Ancestors Markers together to form a chain of families and friends.

What happens to my memorial if Know My Ancestors disappears?

Of course we do not foresee a reason to close our website, but if the event does occur we will provide an option for each user to download their memorial to preserve in their own database.